


Happily Ever After

by Softboyshawn



Category: Shawn Mendes (Musician), Shawn Mendes - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-07 15:10:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16856302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Softboyshawn/pseuds/Softboyshawn
Summary: Summary: This is a Soulmate AU where soulmates are born with matching birthmarks and when they are close to each other the birthmarks ache and burn until you touch your soulmate. Shawn is a CEO and you work in a bakery. One day you guys meet and you know fate has brought you together.





	Happily Ever After

“Ah shit!” you cry out as you drop the muffins you were carrying on the counter. You hold your hand, rubbing your thumb over the birthmark on the back of your hand. Ernie, your boss, pops his head out from the swinging door to the back room to see if you’re okay. You hold your hand up and shake your head. “It’s just hurting again.”

“You know that means your soulmate is around here,” Erie teases, a playful smile on his face. He steps past you to survey the small dining area in front of the bakery cases. He hums, tapping his chin with one flour covered finger as he eyes the customers. There are only three of them in the sitting area. A couple of elderly ladies who came in every couple days to gossip, a older man with a long beard that he was picking crumbs out of.

“I really don’t think it’s one of our customers,” you chuckle as you gather the muffins and turn to put them on the glass display stand on the counter. You place them one by one in a circle and then stack the last three on top before putting the cloche over them. “Besides, it always happens so fast that I’m starting to think it’s just a nerve or something.”

“No no,” Ernie protests, waving his flour covered hands at you. “Soulmate marks don’t lie. That guy…or girl, whatever, it out there passing this shop every day. One day you’re going to meet them.”

“I sure hope so,” you laugh and start to straighten up the large display case attached to the front counter. “I’m real tired of being single.” You squat down and Ernie puts his hand on your shoulder comfortingly. “I know, you want me to be happy, but maybe it just isn’t in the cards for me y’know? I’ll just take over the bakery in a few months and live my life as a lonely bakery lady.”

Ernie lets out a defiant grunt. “Don’t talk like that kid. You’re still very young, besides, all you have to do is find out which person it is that passes the shop everyday. You’re practically halfway to happily ever after. Besides, you don’t have to take the bakery. I can sell it to someone else.”

You look up and Ernie is beaming down at you. You put your hand over his on your shoulder and smile back. “You know I can’t let you do that. I was practically raised in this place, but thank you for having faith in my soulmate even when I don’t.”

“You’re like a daughter to me. How could I do anything less?” he says softly and turns to go back through the swinging door to the back room.

Your hand aches again, throbbing like you’d been burned by one of the sheet pans. It was an ache you knew all too well, but this one couldn’t be cured by some ice and aloe vera gel. It was particularly bad today too. You sigh, sliding the display case door closed as you stand up. The second you’re upright you see a guy standing outside the front door. He’s on the phone, pacing back and forth while talking. Quickly, you scan the windows of the shop, looking for anyone else that may be standing around. There is absolutely nobody. The ache in your hand gets worse and you reach for the damp rag on the shelf below the counter. It’s not much but it feels like it takes the edge off a bit as you press it to your hand.

The guy turns around, looking into the shop and you swear to god your heart stops. He is looking right at you, a confused expression on his face as he says something to the person on the phone. Quickly he hangs up, pocketing the phone as he walks into the bakery and up to the counter. You’re sure your heart is beating out of your chest like in the cartoons. It had to be obvious, he had to know too. Wait, why wasn’t he holding his hand like it hurt? Was his not burning too? Was he not the one?

“I need to order a dozen muffins please,” he says in the loveliest voice you’ve ever heard.

You stare at him, dumbfounded as if he had spoken some language from another planet. “Huh?” you ask quietly, eyes locked on his way too pink lips. Why were they like that? Was he biting them? They didn’t look chapped. Who had lips that pink? Why did he have to look so good? Why was he smiling? Oh god he’s smiling. His teeth are gorgeous. Why is he smiling like that?

“I need a dozen muffins to go?” he asks, tilting his head a bit. He glances down at your name tag and raises his eyebrows. “Are you okay?”

Ernie pops his head out of the swinging door to ask you something and is met with the sight of you holding your hand in the rag and Good Looking staring at you like there was egg on your face. “Can I help you sir?” Ernie smiles and walks over, pushing you aside gently to take the order of the man before you.

“Yeah,” the guys says, eyes glancing over to where you’ve scooted aside to hide behind the small drink refrigerator on the counter, that playful smile still pulling up the corners of his mouth. “I was looking to get a dozen muffins to go. A variety is fine, no lemon please.”

“Of course!” Ernie cheers, eagerly moving to the display case and readying one of the foldable take out boxes. He gathers a dozen plus a couple cookies for good measure. “Here you are, I threw in a few cookies for the trouble. They’re our newest item.” He punches in the dozen cost on the register and glances over at you, eyes going to your hand that you’ve shoved into your apron pocket.

“Thank you, that’s very kind of you,” Good Looking says with eyes still glued to you. It makes your heart weak and your hand ache something fierce.

“They’re this little lady’s own recipe. She’s got a good taste for new flavors. Don’t ya?” Ernie says, trying to coax you out of your corner. He seems to have picked up that this wasn’t your run of the mill cute guy meltdown because you’re literally favoring your hand as if it had been cut off at the wrist and you’re as red as a tomato.

“Yeah, good taste,” you nod eagerly and glue your eyes to the floor.

“Thank you,” Good Looking chuckles, grabbing his box off the counter and turning to leave.

“Oh!” Ernie calls out and you give him a pleading look, like just let the guy leave already. “If you leave a business card in our jar we pick an office each Friday and cater three dozen cookies free.”

“Hmm.” Good Looking sets the box down on the counter and pulls out his wallet. You notice a sparrow tattoo on his hand right where a birthmark that would match yours would be. Maybe he wasn’t the one making your hand hurt, maybe it was a coincidence and the real person was just outside the building where you couldn’t see. Why would somone get a tattoo over their birthmark? No…no it had to be him. “Here we go.” He pulls out a white card and places it in the little mason jar on the counter.

“Good luck! Have a good day!” Ernie smiles and Good Looking leaves, the bell over the door dinging as it closes. The second he’s out of sight Ernie rounds on you. “That was him wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know! I thought it was and he was so good looking I just panicked! He didn’t seem phased though, and he has a tattoo on his his hand right where the birthmark should be. It can’t be him! It just can’t be!”

“No no no, it’s him. Your hand stopped hurting yet?” He looks down and you pull it from your apron and pull the rag away. It felt normal again. Shit. Ernie was right, your gut, was right. “It has, hasn’t it?”

You nod and Ernie reaches for the jar with the business cards in it. There are only three and only two of them are white. He hands them both to you and you look down at them.

One says:

Jacob Bennett

Bennett Tailor and Fitting

The other says:

Shawn Mendes

CEO

Mendes and Davenport Technologies

“Which one is it?” you ask, eyes wide. You were not going to cold call either of these guys and ask them if their hand was burning in the middle of a bakery. What kind of weirdo would do that. “Ernie how am I supposed to know which one of these was that guy?”

Ernie shrugs. “I guess we have two winners for the weekly drawing?” A smile spreads across his face and he laughs. “You’ll be hand delivering both! That way you know which one it is when you drop off the cookies!”

“No! I can’t!”

“You can and will! You have to meet your soulmate kid, I’ll be damned if I don’t do all I can to help you now that we have it narrowed down. Friday you are taking three dozen cookies to Mr. Bennett and Mr. Mendes and we will have our answer.”

You groan, leaning your head back against the wall and sinking down a bit. “I need a break,” you mumble, pinching the bridge of your nose and sighing heavily.

“Clean up table three and you can take a walk and clear your head alright?” Ernie offers and you nod.

While gathering the mug and plate off table three you overhear the two older ladies, Betty and Mae, who always came in to gossip every Wednesday over tea and cakes. Usually you try not to eavesdrop but you can’t help it this time because the name Mendes comes up, the name on the business card in your apron pocket.

“Haven’t you heard? Manny Mendes has fallen ill. They are really worried this time, the pneumonia is pretty bad,” Mae says over a mouth full of cheese danish.

“Oh yes, their whole family must be just a mess. I heard their boy has come back from New York to be with him, leaving the company with his partner for the time. I wouldn’t trust Nash Davenport alone with a dog let alone a whole company for any amount of time.”

Mae lets out a laugh and sips her tea. “Nash never did seem like a good boy. Didn’t he used to chase that little girl down the block, oh what was her name, Caiti? Yeah, he was a terror.”

“Yes, that was Nash. Shawn was the only boy who grew up with a good head on his shoulders. I swear Manny and Karen got blessed with that boy. Is he married yet?”

“Heavens no. I heard he hasn’t found a soulmate, poor boy will be nearly twenty five this year. It’s so unusual isn’t it?”

Betty nods eagerly. “Oh yeah, most soulmates are together by the time they’re twenty if not earlier. Kids these days though, they leave their homes and go see the world. Did you know nearly 80% of soulmates are born and raised in the same towns?”

You nearly drop the mug you have balanced on the plate as you wipe down the table with a rag from your apron. The two ladies look over at you and smile. “Ah, sorry, just a little clumsy today,” you chuckle, holding up the dishware for emphasis.

“It’s that boy who came in isn’t it?” Betty asks with a knowing smile.

“Who?” you ask, playing dumb. You know better than to give these chatty cathys anything to talk about. As soon as you did you would be the talk of the town and that was the last thing you needed.

“Oh come off it, you know just who we mean!” Mae giggles. “Tall, handsome, left his card in your little cup. That boy had eyes for you through the door!”

Betty reaches over and playfully whacks Mae’s arm. “Oh Mae! You’re going to embarrass the poor girl.”

You laugh nervously and offer to bring them more tea and fresh danishes, they insist and you hurry to the back to get their new order. As soon as you deliver them fresh from the oven danishes and a fresh kettle of tea you’re out the door, announcing to Ernie that you were going to take a short walk and get some air.

You take a seat on the bench just outside the shop and pull the business cards from your apron. You slip Jacob Bennett’s back in and turn Shawn Mendes’ over in your fingers. One side has a pattern embossed on it with a logo that says MD TECH in dark blue lettering. MD… Mendes and Davenport. You flip it back over and look at the name and info below. Sure enough, the address listed is in New York City.

“Well shit,” you mutter, shaking your head and tucking the card away. Either your soulmate was a local tailor or CEO of one of the largest medical equipment companies in North America. You bring your hands up to your face and groan. “I swear to god you better be a tailor,” you say, looking at the light birthmark between your thumb and forefinger. “I am not moving to New York for no man, no siree.” In your heart you knew he wasn’t the tailor though. You would have crossed paths before now if he was.

The old guy with crumbs in his beard leaves, waving politely to you as he passes. You glance back into the shop and see Mae and Betty gigging amongst themselves still. Ernie would be fine on his own for a few more minutes. You close your eyes and lean your head back against the window. “How did my life get this complicated?”

________________________

Friday morning you’re dreading going to work. You’ve hit your alarm three times now and this time you have to get up. Ernie would know you were faking if you called in sick today of all days. You get up and head to the shower, hurrying through to get dressed and out the door as soon as possible. You skip breakfast, you could always have something at the shop if you got hungry. Right now you weren’t hungry in the slightest. Nerves were eating you up.

As soon as you get to the bakery, Ernie is already there and the door is unlocked although the closed sign is still flipped over. You lock your bike to the rack outside and go in and put your purse away with your water bottle. You push open the door to the back and find Ernie is boxing up a couple dozen of chocolate chip cookies.

“Morning,” you say dully as you reach for a warm biscuit on a nearby tray. “Are those for Mr. Mendes or Mr. Bennett?”

“They’re actually for The Beanery. I haven’t called either of the guys yet, the address on Mr.Mendes’ card is in New York. I have to see if he has a local office we can take them to.”

“Oh is it?” you ask with a little smirk. You knew the address was in New York, you just hadn’t told Ernie that because you’re sure he would have made you call and arrange another local location to drop off the cookies at. The last thing you wanted to do was call anyone, let alone the guy you were pretty sure was your soulmate.

Ernie gives you a look like he knows that you’re being iffy about the whole soulmate set up. He doesn’t say anymore on the topic, just hands you the two dozen cookies. You take the box and head for the front door, you delivered to The Beanery almost every day because the girls who worked there didn’t usually have time to swing by and pick up their order. It was no trouble, the place was only a few blocks down and around the corner.

You pass by Bennett’s Tailor shop on the way and you pause, looking up at the big gold lettered sign. It was kind of tacky to be honest. You would think as a tailor he would have chosen something more sophisticated and sleek for the font of his business name, but y’know, it was whatever. The sign says closed and opening hours were 9am to 5pm on weekdays. You raise your eyebrows and keep going toward your destination a few shops up.

The moment you’re outside the coffee shop your hand starts aching, not quite burning but just throbbing and you look around you. There are loads of people around and you can’t be sure who is causing the ache. Your eyes go to the tailor shop to see if the owner was getting in early but there is no one near it. Deciding to ignore the ache, you open the door and take the cookies up to the side counter where Lindsay, the owner, is making some speciality coffee for a customer.

“Hey Lins, I got your cookies,” you announce over the loud machine that she’s using to whip some frappe or something. Seeing all this fancy equipment makes you glad you only served hot tea and standard black coffee with cream or sugar over at the bakery. You don’t think you could wrap your head around all of it.

Lindsay looks up and smiles, eyes crinkling at the sight of you. She was one of the cutest girls you’d ever seen, chubby cheeks and red lipstick that matched her red hair. She was a character to say in the least. “Cookies! Perfect! I’ve already sold three so you arrived just in time,” she says as she takes the box and goes to the opposite counter. She leans out and yells into the sitting area, “Cookies for Cody and Linda are here. Come get’em!”

She hands the box off to a tall blonde girl beside her and returns to you. She digs in her apron and pulls out a couple bills to pay you with. “How’s things up there? Is Ernie still trying to hook you up with every guy under 30 who walks in for a loaf of bread?” Lindsay laughs and you count out the money she’s given you.

“Yeah of course. Actually we have narrowed down my potential soulmate,” you bite your lip and pocket the cash. “I’m going to find out for sure today. I have to deliver cookies to two places and whichever one makes my hand feel like I’ve stuck it in boiling water is the winner. Yay!” you cheer sarcastically.

Lindsay reaches over and squeezes your arm as she does a little excited dance in place. “I’m so happy for you! I know you’re probably super nervous but it’s okay, you’re gonna be so happy. Remember when I met Michael? I’m sure nothing could be worse.”

“Oh my god, yeah, he was a nightmare. You cried for like a week because he literally chewed your head off for fucking up his macchiato.”

“Yeah,” Lindsay laughs and sighs lovingly. “But he came back and apologized and asked me if I would forgive him and maybe go out with him to talk because he was pretty sure I was his soulmate because his balls were on fire and that’s why he chewed me out, the pain was almost unbearable.”

You let out a snort and shake your head. “Right, you have the weird birthmark story, thank god mine is normal.”

“Yep it’s right on my-”

“Lindsay!” the tall blonde yells over the hustle and bustle of baristas. “Espresso machine is on the fritz again!”

“Gotta go, see you around kid. Good luck!”

You wave goodbye and head for the front doors. Your hand suddenly zings again and you ball your fingers up into a fist. You take one last look around the coffee shop before opening the door, but you don’t even know who you’re looking for. Sure you knew what one of the guys looked like, but the other was a total mystery.

________________________

The minute you step into the bakery Ernie calls you to the counter from the back room. There is a tall guy standing there, short brown hair, fair skin, mid twenties maybe. You smile politely and walk around the counter.

“Hi, can I help you?” you ask cheerfully, smiling your biggest friendliest smile at the gentleman before you.

“Ah, yes,” he chuckles, looking over at the bakery case. “The man who was up here seems to have had to run to take something out of the oven. I’d like a dozen of your chocolate chip cookies and a dozen of the peanut butter.”

You turn and go to the case, gathering his order and boxing it up. You punch it into the register and announce the total. He hands over a credit card and you happen to glance at the name on the front as you hand it back. The moment you see it your stomach drops. Jacob Bennett.

Jacob gather his boxes of cookies and waves goodbye with a bright smile. You turn and march through the swinging door the moment he is out of the shop. “Ernie! Did you call the Bennett guy yet? About the catered cookies?”

“No, not yet. His store hours said 9am so I didn’t want to-”

“Oh thank god,” you sigh, leaning on the rolling table and taking a deep breath. “That guy was Jacob Bennett and my hand,” you stick your hand up for emphasis “is perfectly fine! Which means the guy who was in here the other day is Shawn Mendes and he is my soulmate.”

“Perfect, because I already called him.”

“You what?”

Ernie grins and puts a batch of hard rolls into the oven. “Yeah, I called him first. He said we can deliver the cookies to the Kings Estate. I’ve got them boxed up over there,” he says pointing to three flat boxes of cookies on the nearby counter. “Better hurry. Our product shines best when it’s fresh.”

You walk over and grab the boxes, side eyeing Ernie as you head for the doors. Kings Estate was a massive sprawling old castle just outside of town that had been renovated for tours and events. In the big main building that was still standing was a home where the owners of the estate lived. The owners who happened to be the Mendes family. You set the boxes of cookies in the attached travel basket on your bike that you parked out front and head for the castle, and your soulmate.

________________________

The ride to the back door of the Kings Estate home was bumpy and left something to be desired when riding a bike. It had taken you nearly half an hour to get there and then another ten minutes just to find and ride down the hill that had signs that said “Delivery Entrance This Way” but here you are, parking your bike against the side of the old brick building and looking up at it’s towering architecture. It’s quite beautiful in a historic sense. You had been to the castle a few times while growing up, field trips with school and all, but never the renovated home.

The sky rumbles above you and you take a glance around at the dark clouds that were blowing in. Great, you hadn’t brought a jacket or your umbrella. The ride back was going to be damp to say in the least. You reach out and knock on the big wooden double doors after glancing at the doorbell that had a sign taped over it that read OUT OF SERVICE. For as wealthy as they were, you would think they could get a doorbell fixed in a timely manner.

Seconds tick by and you stand there, rocking on your feet, cookie boxes in hand. Sure enough your hand starts to ache, a slow burning tingling ache coursing across your hand. It makes your heart stop, a lump forms in your throat. He was close. On the other side of the door? Was he going to answer?

You take a deep breath, forcing yourself to steady your nerves. So what if he was your soulmate, that didn’t meant he was just going to scoop you up and change your whole life. What were you, cinderella? Hardly. You chuckle to yourself but quickly snap your head up as the door before you opens and there is an older woman standing before you.

“Hello, I didn’t know we had any deliveries today,” she says in the sweetest voice. “Are you sure this wasn’t for the maintenance crew at the castle?”

“No, not it’s not,” you start, looking down at the boxes and balling your fist up under them because the pain was almost too much. “These are for Shawn Mendes. He won our weekly catered cookies and said we could deliver them to this address?”

The woman looks to her left, just inside the closed door beside her. “Oh,” she nods, seemingly being told something by someone just out of sight. “Yes, yes, I’ll take them.”

You hand over the cookies and her hand brushes against your birthmark, making you flinch and grit your teeth. “I hope you have a nice day,” you manage, almost holding back tears. “Our card is in the box for all your future catering need.”

“Are you alright?” she asks, giving you a concerned motherly look. “You seem to be in pain. Can I get you a drink? Did you get hurt on the way over?”

“No it’s n-”

“It’s her hand,” a voice says from beside the woman and the second wooden door opens. It’s the guy from the shop, Shawn. He’s in a button down with rolled up sleeves and a pair of black slacks. “It’s burning isn’t it?”

Your eyes widen and you stumble back on the uneven gravel as you watch the woman disappear into the house. “Yeah. It’s like I stuck it in a pot of boiling water.” You rub it harshly, willing the pain away but it isn’t working. Shawn steps toward you and your heart pounds, blood rushing in your ears almost making you dizzy. Breathe. Fuck you have to breathe. You take in a deep breath and Shawn stops.

“Hey, hey it’s okay,” he soothes as he offers his hand to you. “Take my hand.”

You shake your head, biting your lips and staring at his outstretched hand.

He takes a step closer and you shy away, pulling your hands close to your chest. “I promise I don’t bite. Come on, take it. Trust me.”

“No,” you whisper. “I can’t. I’m scared.”

“Hey, I won’t hurt you. I just want to see your hand.”

“No, no, no,” you close your eyes as Shawn reaches out, fingertips on your hand as he pulls it away from your chest. The ache fades away, quickly turning into a pleasant warmth that courses through your veins starting at your hand.

“I can’t believe you’re real,” Shawn mutters, his thumb brushing over your birthmark. “I never thought I’d find you.”

“Did you know, the other day in the bakery?” you ask, pulling your hand away.

“Oh I knew,” he chuckles, rubbing his hand over his tattoo. “I knew the minute I saw you through the door. Y’know you were so cute the way you were blushing and just losing your mind because I was right there and you were looking at your soulmate.” He grins, taking your hand again. “I was actually going to come back today. My dad is really sick so I didn’t want to leave yesterday but I knew I had to come see you again. Then you just show up at my door with cookies looking as adorable as can be…” He hums, eyes going over you in your dress with matching colored tights. “How did I get so lucky?”

You blush at his attentions. He was really laying it on you and you didn’t mind one bit. The guy was fine as fine could be. “You knew? Why didn’t you say something? It would have saved me a lot of trouble and worry in the last twenty four hours.”

“You were too nervous, literally hiding from me behind the cooler on the counter,” Shawn says, pulling you closer to him and under the small eve just out of the rain. His fingers come up to your face and he tucks some hair behind your ear. “Tell me, are you nervous because you’ve just met your soulmate, or are you nervous because of who I am?”

“B-both?” You swallow hard and look up at him. To be honest you never thought you would be so nervous to meet your soulmate, and when you did, you assumed he or she would be some regular person with a regular job. You never expected someone like Shawn Mendes. If fairytales were real, you were most definitely in the middle of one.

“Both, hmm,” he purrs questioningly. “Well, I wonder what we can do to fix that.” He leads you a few steps more so you’re fully inside the doorway. The rain picks up and drenches the courtyard, pooling along divets in the gravel, soaking everything to the core.

“I can’t stay,” you blurt out. “I have to go back to work. Ernie doesn’t have another front end person. I can’t leave him there.”

“Right. Shit.” Shawn shoves his hand into his pocket and pulls out his keys. “I’ll give you a ride. I can’t let you walk back.”

“But my bike?” you ask, pointing to your bike next to the doors. “I don’t want to leave it here.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring it to you when the rain stops.” He grabs a jacket off a nearby hook and hands it to you. “Come on, the Jeep is mine.” He clicks the fob on his keys and the lights flash, signalling it was unlocked.

You put the jacket over your head and hold it up as you run to the car. It helps keep you pretty dry and you crawl into his car, your butt only a little wet as you take a seat. Your hand was aching, but it was different this time, warmer, pleasant.

Shawn gets in the drivers side and he is soaked, his button down clinging to his skin reveals quite a physique underneath. You blush, cheeks going a deep shade of pink as you find your mind wandering to what he would look like with nothing on. He glances at you for just a moment before he starts up the car and you could swear he smirks as if he knows just what you’re thinking about.

Shawn backs out of the parking space and heads for the road you came in on. The moment you get to the gates he stops and looks over at you. “Give me your hand,” he says softly. “Please, I know you need it too.”

You put your hand out and he takes it, threading his finger between yours while keeping one hand on the wheel. It’s far too intimate but it feels so right. It feels so good the way his touch makes warmth spread up your arm and into your whole body. “Thanks for the ride,” you mumble, not sure what you should say or if you should talk at all. It felt like if you said the wrong thing this would all come shattering down around you.

“It’s no problem. You would be soaked if you had walked, that dress clinging to you all over…” he trails off and you can feel your cheeks burning. So he was thinking the same thing you were about him. “Couldn’t have you walking around town like that,” he smiles, thumb stroking back and forth over your skin gently.

“I would be a sight to see,” you chuckle and he hums in agreement. He pulls up to the front of the bakery and the soft light from inside is glowing on the sidewalk in the overcast grayness. “Thanks again,” you smile and he releases your hand. “I’ll see you around?”

“I’ll stop by tomorrow. I’d love more of those cookies of yours that I got the other day.”

“The blueberry ricotta shortcake ones Ernie sent with you?” you ask, eyebrows raised. Shawn hums and you blush for the billionth time. “I’m not sure we will have any of them for a while. The ingredients can be kind of expensive.”

“Well, whatever you have then. I’ll taste anything you want me to.”

“Anything?” you ask, trying to gauge if he was trying to be flirty or not.

Shawn eyes go over you as he says, “Anything,” in the most ridiculously flirty tone.

His voice makes you hot and you find the door handle, pulling it and then pushing the door open. The rain splatters on your arm and you step out into the cold downpour. It really helps you come back to your senses because Shawn was seriously riling you up. You duck under the awning outside the front doors and pull them open to get inside as quick as you can. Shawn pulls away as you look back, but you know he will return shortly.

“You’re back!” Ernie cheers as he comes out of the back upon hearing the bell over the door. “Did you meet him? Is he a good guy?”

“He is…something,” you giggle, leaning your head back against the door. “He’s going to come back tomorrow. When he does you better not be weird.”

“Me? Weird? Never!”

You narrow your eyes and point at Ernie and he makes a ridiculous face at you before ducking back into the back. “Did anyone stop by?”

“Just the usual morning crowd, I handled it!” Ernie pops his head out and smiles at you. “I could have handled it all day, y’know, if you wanted to stay with Mr. Mendes.”

“Ernie!” you yell and throw a rag at him off a nearby counter. He hurries back into the back cackling and you groan, knowing as soon as Shawn came back Ernie was going to be a terror.

________________________

“I heard you met your soulmate!” your sister, Tara, squeals as you walk through the front door of the small house the two of you shared. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Tara, I didn’t know until today,” you laugh and lock the door. You kick your shoes off in the tray beside the door and hang your purse up on a hook. “How could I tell you before I knew?”

“That isn’t what I heard,” she clucks as she comes around and puts her hands on her hips, standing in front of you, blocking your way into the living room. “I heard you met him yesterday but you denied him!”

“What?” you laugh. “Who is telling these wild stories?”

Tara grabs your hand and leads you into the living room. “I heard it from Barb who was told by Chris who works at the bookstore who overheard Betty Johnson telling Kathy Smits that you met him in the bakery and you denied him and you wouldn’t even talk to him!”

“Oh my god that is quite the game of telephone.” You shake your head and sink into the old couch, grabbing the nearby pillow and hugging it to your chest. “Here is what really happened.”

You finish up recapping the last three days for Tara and she stares at you dumbfounded. “Holy shit! He is like…tech royalty! How on earth did my baby sister get so lucky?” Tara yells and leans back in her recliner to stare at the ceiling in amazement.

“Funny thing is, he thinks he’s the lucky one.”

“No! No he does not!”

You laugh and shake your head. “He really does. He was looking at me like I was prettiest thing he’d ever seen and asked how he got so lucky. I really don’t think he owns a mirror because if he saw himself he would think I was about as pretty as a bag of trash.”

“Oh you’re not ugly at all. Don’t talk like that, you know you’re pretty as well as I do. When are you going to see him again?”

“Tomorrow,” you roll your eyes and Tara throws her pillow at you. “Hey! What was that for?”

“Rolling your eyes. Don’t be such a brat, he’s going to love you. It sounds like he’s already pretty taken with you as it is.”

“I’m just nervous. I mean he’s my soulmate!”

“I know!” Tara squeals and leans back in her chair. “Don’t fuck it up. I mean, one of us has to be happy in this life.”

You look at your sister softly and you can see the way her face kind of falls. She is happy for you, elated that you’ve found your soulmate and he’s someone really interesting, but the hurt from her losing her soulmate will always be there. You know there would always be a little jealousy when you found yours. You were all Tara had left, your mom passed away a few years ago and your dad was never in the picture. When Tara lost Ryan…she was never the same.

“You know it wasn’t your fault,” you mumble, reaching over and taking her hand. “Don’t tell me you still blame yourself.”

“No, no I know. It was an accident. I know that.”

“Good. Let’s make dinner together tonight then? You and me and that shitty old stove.”

Tara cracks a smile and squeezes your hand. “Yeah, us versus that old piece of shit.”

You laugh and she laughs with you. “For real though, we need to have the landlord replace that thing. It’s going to actually catch fire one day.”

________________________

The clock on your wall tells you it’s after midnight. Your mind had been racing with thoughts of Shawn since you finished dinner with Tara. For hours you scrubbed the internet for any information you could get on him. All his social media accounts were private so you weren’t going to get any info there. The most you could do was request to follow on instagram, which you did.

You moved on from social media to just media. Searching MD Tech and his name lead to a few articles but mostly they were focused on the company and he didn’t appear in most of the photos. For being a CEO of a massive company, the guy managed to keep his life pretty well hidden. It made you worry, maybe he was hiding something. Then again he could just be really private, unlike his partner, Nash Davenport. The amount of articles about him and his playboy ways you had to wade through to get even a picture of Shawn out of was astounding. How could someone so private be partners with someone so…not private.

A notification pops up on the top of your phone and you open it. Shawn accepted your follow request and sent you a message.

Shawn: Hey i’m glad you found me. I’ve been trying to find you all night. I realized I forgot to give you my number.

You: Oh yeah I guess the picture of a rose as my icon doesn’t make it easy to identify me huh?

Shawn: Lol yeah and i don’t know your last name

You: Oh right well you do now

Shawn: Mmhmm yeah its nice. Would be better as mine though.

You: Omg did you seriously just say that?

Shawn: Guess i did.

You just stare at your phone, cheeks pink as you reread that message over and over. He was really forward and that was just…not something you were used to with guys. It made your heart race but you try not to think too much of it. He was just being flirty. You could be flirty too.

Shawn: So what have you dug up on me? I know you’ve been looking me up if you found my instagram.

You: not much. You’re a real mystery man. Can’t find even one article about a one night stand gone wrong or anything lol

Shawn: thats good. I keep my life very private. I try not to make friends with anyone too unsavory

You: good to know. Some guys stick their dick in anything that moves which usually leads to a lot of other bad choices too

Shawn: lol yeah that is not me at all. I prefer serious relationships but havent had one in a while.

You: serious? Even though you hadn’t met your soulmate yet?

Shawn: I never thought I’d meet you. I’m twenty five I figured you just weren’t out there anymore.

You: can I ask you about your tattoo? On your hand.

Shawn: you want to know why I covered my birthmark right? Like I said i never thought i would find you so i didn’t care and covered it up.

You: did it change the way it felt when you were near me?

Shawn: it felt like my skin was boiling off when i was near you. I think the tattoo made it more sensitive. What did it feel like for you?

You: Same. but sometimes it was more tingly like pins and needles on my skin.

Shawn: yeah… but that part is over now. you should get some sleep. I know you have to work tomorrow.

You: you need to sleep too.

Shawn: I’ll be fine. Go to sleep.

You: not until you say you’re going to sleep

Shawn: stubborn. Do I have to call you and make sure you’re actually going to sleep?

You: like facetime me?

Shawn: Yeah why not?

You: okay

You send Shawn your phone number and within a few minutes your phone is ringing. Nerves almost get the best of you and you really want to hang up on him but you don’t. A moment later his face is on the screen, he’s laying in bed on his side with a sleep mask pushed up on his forehead.

“Hey you,” he smiles and you prop your phone up on your nightstand. “Is this weird?” he chuckles.

“Doesn’t feel weird.” You lay on your side so you’re facing him. “Do you think it’s weird?”

“Nah.” He’s quiet and the two of you sort of just stare at each other on the tiny screens. He breaks first, chuckling and presses his face into his pillow. “You’re really cute.”

“You’re not so bad yourself. I mean, look at you. Such a rich pretty boy.”

“Rich pretty boy huh? Is that what you see when you look at me?”

You laugh and bury your face in your pillow. “I’m just teasing you. You’re really gorgeous and you seem like a really good guy. Honestly, I can’t believe you’re my soulmate.”

“I’m so glad I met you.”

“Me too.”

Shawn pulls his phone closer so his whole face is on screen and you can see a couple zits on his jaw. So maybe he wasn’t as perfect as he seemed. You chuckle to yourself and he smiles at you. “Go to sleep or I won’t come see you tomorrow.”

“You’re a jerk.”

“Oh that’s not very nice.”

You giggle, lack of sleep really catching up to you. “Maybe I’m not very nice.”

“Oh I think you are, but you’re sleepy and you’re just being fiesty.”

“Mmm,” you hum into your pillow. He could read you like a book. It was strange, having just met but feeling like you’d known him your whole life. He felt comfortable, easy to talk to. “I’ll go to sleep.”

Shawn hums and you open your eyes a bit to see him one more time. That lovely face and those soft eyes…he was just your type, how perfect. “Close your eyes, stop staring at me,” he chuckles and you hide your face in your pillows once more. “Yeah, I can see you, that’s how cameras work y’know.”

“Shut up,” you mumble, a blush spreading across your cheeks. “I’m trying to sleep.”

“Alright, alright. Goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he whispers and you nod slightly, sleep taking over completely as you listen to his soft breathing and the shift of his blankets when he moves. It’s nice. Comfortable. Feels right.

________________________

“Get up! You’re going to be late!” Tara yells and you startle, jerking awake in your bed. Your phone falls on the floor and you sit up to look at the time on your wall clock. Half past seven. Saturdays you were supposed to be at the bakery at eight in the morning.

“Oh crap,” you groan, throwing your legs over the side of the bed and standing up. You hurry and pick a skirt and a blousy shirt from your pile of unfolded clean clothes. The shirt is wrinkled but it’s not that bad. You grab a clip for your hair and run your fingers through it. You skip your tights because that would take way too long to get on, so you opt for some bicycle shorts just in case your skirt came up at all. By the time you reach the door Tara is holding out your boots and you tug them on with the socks you wore to bed still on your feet.

You get the door open and then you freeze on the porch. “My bike…fuck,” you drop your head and groan. “It’s still at the Kings Estate. Shawn was going to bring it to me today because it rained yesterday.”

“Well there is no use in crying about it now. Start walking!” Tara point to the road and you march toward it.

It’s nearly a quarter after eight when you round the corner and head down the street to the bakery. Parked outside is your bike on the rack and a black Jeep in the parking space just outside the front doors. Shawn was already there. You pick up the pace and jog the last few yards to the doors.

Once inside you don’t find Shawn waiting for you. He wasn’t in his car when you passed by either. Huh. You look around as you take your purse off and put it under the counter. Laughter from the back gets your attention and you push open the swinging door slowly.

“Oh you should have seen her, she was a mess! The whole bag of flour just dumped all over her. She looked like a ghost!” Ernie laughs and standing beside him also laughing was Shawn.

Shawn. Covered in flour, sleeves rolled up, laughing like this was an everyday thing. He turns to look at you when the door swings closes behind you, making a slight squeaking noise along it’s hinges. “Oh look who’s here,” he smiles, putting his hands on his hips.

“Yes, I’m here because I work here. What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you but you weren’t here yet.” He walks over and takes in your disheveled appearance, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “From the looks of it, you woke up late.”

“It’s your fault for keeping me up so late.” You cross your arms and lean to the side to look past him at Ernie. “You let this pretty boy back in your bakery?”

Ernie grins. “He was here at eight and you weren’t here yet so I thought I’d show him a thing or two. He’s a quick learner, and he came with gifts.”

“Gifts?” you ask, returning your attention to the man in front of you. “What kind of gifts?”

“Gifts for making cookies. I brought ricotta and blueberries so we could make those cookies of yours.” Shawn grabs a towel and wipes his floury hands off before taking yours and leading you out into the front area. “Ernie is just about to put them in the oven, in the meantime I thought we could talk.”

The door over the shop jingles and in walks a couple customers. Three regulars who came by for morning pastries and their daily bread. “I’d love to talk but I have to work too y’know,” you whisper to Shawn, pulling away and going by the register to greet the customers.

Shawn slides up behind you and puts his hand on your lower back. It sends a shiver up and down your spine but he doesn’t seem to notice. “Show me how to do this,” he whispers and you glance up at him. “I’ll watch you with the first one okay?”

“Hi, what can I get for you?” you ask Mr. Peters as he approaches the counter. He says he needs a loaf of rye bread and two hard rolls. You move to the cooling racks that Ernie must have just rolled out and you gather the items requested, bagging them in clear cello wrap sleeves before returning to the counter. Shawn remains hot on your heels, watching your every move.

“That will be six dollars,” you announce, typing the loaf and roll costs into the register. Mr. Peters hands you a couple bills and you make change. He smiles up at Shawn and gives you a little wink and a smile as he heads out.

“So that’s it? Bag and box up the goods?” Shawn asks, eyeing the little note with prices taped to the cash register. “Then ring it up based on what it is?”

“Mmm hmm.” You look up and him and he smiles down at you. “Wanna try the next one?”

“I’d love to.”

A couple seconds pass and Ms. Jones walks up with a bag of rolls from the discount day old basket beside the display case. She asks for a dozen danishes with no fruit filling. Shawn smiles and grabs a box from under the register, unfolds it, and then gets a piece of the wax paper and starts picking out danishes from the display case.

You’re impressed. He seems to know what he’s doing and he even tiers the danishes in the box so they aren’t stacked on top of each other. Once he gets to the register he punches in the danish total and then gets stumped by the discount rolls. There isn’t a discount total and you raise your eyebrows, waiting to see what he does next.

“Half off,” you whisper and he smiles, nodding and typing in half the cost of a dozen rolls.

“Ten dollars,” he says to Ms. Jones and she smiles at him, then at you.

“I didn’t know Ernie was hiring anyone,” Ms. Jones giggles as she digs in her purse for payment. She leans in close after handing Shawn some cash and holds her hand up as if to whisper just to you. “He’s a cute one! Better keep him around!”

You laugh and Shawn rolls his eyes, thanking her for coming in and handing over her goods. Shawn crosses his arms and leans against the counter, looking down at you and then grabbing your hand, thumb smoothing over your birthmark. “That wasn’t so bad now was it?”

“Sure wasn’t. Maybe we should keep you around.”

“Maybe you should,” he hums and you duck your head as he chuckles.

________________________

The bakery was closed on Sundays so you end up going out to lunch with Shawn and talking for a long while. You learn that he went to a private boarding school outside of town and spent most of his summers with his grandparents in Portugal. It was amazing the two of you had grown up so close but had never come across each other until now. Lunch soon turned into dinner and dinner turned into late night sushi a few towns over. The two of you spent all of Sunday together and you couldn’t have been happier.

“Can I come in?” Shawn asks as he stands with you on the front porch of your house. It’s almost two in the morning and you had been out way later than you ever intended to be.

“I dunno,” you giggle, rocking on your feet with your heels in your hand. “Depends on what your intentions are.”

“Oh I dunno if I could tell you that. Maybe I could show you,” he smirks. His hands come up and he cups your jaw tenderly, leaning your face up as he places a soft kiss on your lips. “How’s that?” he whispers and you nod. He goes in again, this time with a bit more urgency to taste you.

Your hands go to his chest as you feel your body heating up, toes curling against the cold cement below you. “Easy, easy,” you giggle and he keeps pecking your lips, smiling each time. “If that’s your intentions then I might be inclined to let you inside.”

“Oh? I promise I’ll kiss as much as you like,” he smiles, presses his forehead to yours. “I’ll kiss you anywhere you like too.”

You bite your lip and reach for your keys in your purse. “Come on, but be quiet, my sister would never let me live it down if she knew I let a guy in on the first date.”

“Ohh, bad girl,” Shawn teases and runs his hands along your sides. “Gonna have to stay real quiet huh?” He kisses the back of your neck as you fumble with your keys in the lock. “I make no promises.”

“Fuck,” you breath out and he pulls you back against him. You can feel how hard he is getting and you can’t help but get aroused as well. You step into the house, turning and grabbing the front of his shirt. “Get in here already.”

________________________

For the next three weeks Shawn splits his time between being with his parents and being with you at the bakery. After the first week Shawn just seemed to fit right in with you and Ernie. He started running the front end while you worked with Ernie in the back on new recipes and just giving him a hand in general. Ernie offered to pay Shawn for his time but he refuses, flat out told him no he wasn’t going to take a dime, that being allowed to be there with you was more than enough payment.

One day you are setting up tables just after you flipped over the open sign and unlocked the door and you notice Shawn hasn’t showed up yet. He was usually always there before you if the two of you weren’t coming in together. If he wasn’t coming he would text you and let you know he was staying with his dad or he had a conference call or something. It worries you, makes you think something has happened with his dad. He was getting better though, fighting through the pneumonia like a champ. The doctors said he would be on his feet in a few weeks.

You check your phone about a dozen times in a ten minute period. You had already sent a couple texts, asking Shawn where he was and if everything was alright. The lack of response made you even more worried.

The door on the shop jingles and startles you as you’re lost in thought, causing you to knock over the sugar shaker on the table you were straightening up. You hadn’t realized just how on edge you were about Shawn not replying. Your back is to the door as you pick up the sugar shaker set it up right before you go to turn around. When you do, Shawn is next you, his warm hand on your side is unexpected and you bump into the table.

“Easy there, wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself,” he chuckles as he sets a carrier with three coffees in it on the table behind you. He looks down at the sugar pile on the table and then to you. “Looks like you made a bit of a mess there.”

“You scared me. It’s all your fault,” you smile playfully, relief washing over you that he showed up.

“Oh it’s all my fault huh?” he purrs, reaching around you and rubbing his finger in the sugary mess. He brings his finger up to your lips and presses it against them. “You should really clean it up.”

You slip your tongue out and lick his finger clean, making him grin at you and pull you closer against him. He pulls his finger away and touches the sugar again, more of it sticking to his now slightly damp finger. He brings it back up and pushes it past your lips and you take it into your mouth, sucking the sugar off as you eyes fall closed.

“Mmm, so sweet. Such a good girl,” Shawn whispers and you nod, mouth bobbing a bit around his finger. “Just what I wanted in a soulmate,” he dips his head down and his breath ghosts across your ear. “A good girl who listens, does what she’s told.” He chuckles and you feel heat pool in your stomach as he places a kiss just under your ear. 

“Break it up!” Ernie yells from behind the counter and you pull away from Shawn, a blush staining your cheeks, heart racing. “You’re like a bunch of teenagers!”

“Oh come on Ernie, from what you’ve told me you couldn’t keep your hands on your soulmate either when you were our age,” Shawn quips, picking up the coffee carrier and walking to the counter.

Ernie just laughs and shakes his head. “What are you so late for hmm? You had our girl over here worried sick. I’ve never seen her so pale.”

You walk over and stand beside Shawn. He puts his arm around you back and smiles down at you before looking back to Ernie. “Well, I had to get our coffees, and I had to make a few phone calls. I’d actually like to talk to you about something.”

“Oh?’ Ernie asks, grabbing the cup of coffee with his name on it and taking a sip. “What about kid?”

“I want to buy this place from you.”

“What?!” you blurt out, eyes wide as you look up at Shawn. “This is going to be my place, you can’t just come in here and-”

Shawn puts his finger to your lips and shushes you tenderly. “Easy easy now baby. It would be our place, me and you.”

“Can we talk about this in private,” you mumble around his finger on your lips. Shawn nods to Ernie, silently excusing the two of you and leads you outside.

“What’s the problem?”

“The problem? Shawn, we’ve only been together for what, almost a month? You want to just come and buy my bakery? Yes, my bakery, it is mine at the end of next month. I know you’ve got loads of money and crap but you can’t just leave your whole life behind because you found your soulmate!”

“Babe, that is exactly what I want to do. I fucking hate my job, you know I hate running MD Tech. It’s not me, I’m not a suit and tie guy. I have enough money to retire a dozen times over and I’m only twenty five. Meeting you gave me a new lease on life, an out from the corporate jungle. I just want a normal, comfortable life. I want to settle down with my soulmate, maybe have a few kids in the future, just…live.”

You look into the shop and watch as Ernie straightens up the display case. The guy always said you’d find your happily ever after one day. Shawn was definitely prince charming. If you and Shawn both took over the bakery that would allow you to bake all day while he ran the front. Shawn would be able to cover expenses and labor, hell, you could hire some extra help and maybe even expand into the empty shop space next door. Ernie always wanted to expand but it was never in the budget. Maybe…maybe with Shawn you could make not only your dreams come true but Ernie’s too.

“Talk to me, what’s going on in that head of yours?” Shawn asks, tilting you chin up to look at him.

“Alright,” you smile and he grins. “Deal. You can buy the bakery, but I want to pay him double. I want Ernie to be able to retire happily and travel like he’s always dreamed.”

Shawn wraps his arms around you and picks you up. “You got yourself a deal.” He kisses your neck and you giggle as you wrap your legs around him. He walks you into the shop and Ernie laughs. “If you’ll let me, I’d like to buy the place as soon as possible Ernie!”

“Sold!” Ernie laughs. “How soon can I start my vacation?”

Shawn smiles and sets you down, taking your hand and squeezing it. “Whenever you want. We got this place covered, right?”

“We sure do, but I have one exception.” Ernie raises his eyebrows. “You have to go on a long vacation and see your kids and don’t come back until we say so.”

“You want to keep me out of my bakery?”

“Our bakery,” Shawn smirks.

Ernie lifts his apron over his head and sets it on the counter. “You kids have a deal. The place is all yours. But when I do come back, can I still bake from time to time?”

“Of course,” you laugh and put your arm around Shawn. “We’d love to have you back as soon as you finish seeing the world. No skimping, Ern. Tomorrow we will get everything ready to sign over and you’ll be ready to start the rest of your life. We both get our happily ever after.”

________________________

One Year Later

“Lindsay! Do we have any more of the vanilla hazelnut whipped cream?” you yell from the door to the back of the bakery.

“Sure do, buttercup!” She throws you a small tub from a fridge under the counter of her homemade whipped cream blend. You catch it and duck back into the bakery to make a small batch of frosting out of it.

Shawn comes up behind you as you sit on a little stool and spread the whipped cream on a cooled cupcake. He snakes his arms around you and rubs over your stomach. “How’s the little bean today?” he purrs, rubbing up and down your little baby bump.

“The bean is hungry,” you laugh, leaning back to kiss him. “I’m going to take these out for samples and we can go get lunch.”

“What’s this magic concoction?”

You stand up, lifting the tray of cupcakes and holding them under Shawn’s nose. “Mocha espresso cupcakes with vanilla hazelnut whipped cream frosting.”

“Mmm, I knew I married you for a reason.”

“Oh? And why is that?” you tease as you lead him out of the bakery and to the front of the store. “Because I can bake? Because I’m your soulmate? Choose carefully, I’m a crazy pregnant woman now y’know.”

Shawn laughs. “All of the above?”

You set the tray of cupcakes down and tell your cashier, Jenna, that they are for samples today and to cut them up for anyone who wants to try them. “Good answer,” you say as you turn around and follow Shawn out from behind the counter.

“What are you thinking for lunch?”

“I’ve been craving a meatball sub. How about we go to Alfredo’s?”

Shawn hums and puts his arm around your back. “Anything you want.”

“Anything?” you giggle, walking your fingers up his chest and he grins.

“Behave,” he smiles and glances down at your tummy as he puts his hand on it. “You make your mom crazy, just absolutely crazy for me.”

You grab his face and pull him into a kiss. “I was crazy for you before and I’ll still be crazy for you after the baby.”

“Hmm, good.” Shawn kisses you a few more times, little pecks before he settles with his head against yours. “Come on, let’s go get you that meatball sub.”

“Yeah, I’m starved,” you giggle and go to the door to open it but you stop, hand hesitating as you turn around to look at the store and smile.

It took a couple months but you had done it. You had made the bakery everything Ernie ever dreamed it could be and more. Shawn bought the empty shop next door and the expansion began the day after the papers were signed. The whole back room was expanded into a full bakery with several more ovens and work spaces, proper storage and cooling racks were added along side stand mixers and a whole array of top of the line baking appliances.

Lindsay and her crew closed up shop a few blocks down and came to open the coffee shop with you. Her lease on the space was up and the rental fee was getting to be outrageous. With an expansion of the bakery counter and new water lines run to the front of the shop, you were in business together in a matter of weeks.

The sitting area went from a small six table space in the bakery to a fourteen table area from one end to the other, including an addition of window bar seating and several refrigerated cases on the bakery side for cakes and chilled goods.

Ernie’s Bakery and The Beanery became The Baked Bean and one year later you were open for business. To look back you never thought you would see the day that you had your happily ever after, but here you were. Bakery owner. Wife. Soon to be mother. Soulmate. Yeah…you got your happily ever after and it couldn’t be more perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Author Note:
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please leave Kudos, comments and more! 
> 
> Find me also at softboyshawn on Tumblr and adubs91593 on Wattpad


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